1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to temporary shelters, and more particularly to collapsible shelters that are transportable to and erectable at desired sites.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of equipment have been developed to provide temporary shelter to persons working or playing out of doors. For example, ice fishing shanties are well known.
Some ice fishing shanties are more or less permanent structures. That is, once built, they remain essentially completed and ready to use. They are portable in the sense of being transportable from a summer storage site to an ice fishing site, but they do not undergo substantial assembly or disassembly prior to or after transportation.
Other ice fishing shanties are collapsible. Such shanties are normally stored and transported in a collapsed state. Upon reaching the desired fishing site, they are erected to provide shelter to one or more fishermen. When it is desired to again move the shanties, they are first collapsed.
Ice fishing shanties of the permanent type have an important advantage over the collapsible type. That advantage is that a fisherman need not spend any time erecting his shelter after he has transported it to the desired fishing location. A corollary benefit is that he does not have to collapse the shelter at the end of the fishing season. On the other hand, permanent type shanties suffer the handicap of being much more difficult to transport than collapsible shanties. A large truck or even a trailer is normally required to transport a permanent type shanty. In contrast, a relatively small truck or even an automobile is usually sufficient to transport a collapsed shanty.
A further disadvantage of permanent type shanties is that they are almost always stored outdoors during the summer. Consequently, they are continuously exposed to the elements. Exterior repairs can be made only when the weather is suitable. Further, permanent type shanties are not always very attractive, so their owners must find out-of-the-way storage locations. Conversely, the small volume occupied by collapsed shanties enable them to be stored in garages or barns, where they can be repaired at the owner's leisure.
Because of the ease with which collapsible ice fishing shanties are transported, they have been popular over the years. Examples of older style collapsible style shanties are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,971,395; 3,874,398; 3,854,746; 3,820,805; 3,492,015; 3,173,436; 3,157,185; and reissue 26,140. More recently developed portable shanties may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,133,378; 4,938,243; 4,926,893; 4,917,127; 4,526,391; and 4,438,940.
Despite the large number of different collapsible ice fishing shanties available, most are quite small when erected, being suitable for one or at the most two persons. Since ice fishing is often undertaken by groups of more than two persons, there is a need for a larger collapsible shanty.